悲剧的诞生The Birth Of Tragedy 第47期:何为"希腊的乐观"

After an energetic attempt to focus on the sun we have, by way of remedy almost, dark spots before our eyes when we turn away.

当我们竭力注视太阳之后眼花缭乱地转身避开，我们就感觉到眼前有许多帮助视力恢复的暗黑点。

Conversely, the luminous images of the Sophoclean heroes--those Apollinian masks--are the necessary productions of a deep look into the horror of nature;

反之，索福克勒斯的悲剧英雄的光辉形象，简言之，其化装的梦神成份，却是人窥见了自然的秘奥和恐怖之必然结果，

luminous spots, as it were, designed to cure an eye hurt by the ghastly night.

他们仿佛是用来治疗久居恐怖黑夜而至失明的眼睛的光点。

Only in this way can we form an adequate notion of the seriousness of Greek "serenity";

只有在这一意义上，我们才能相信掌握了所谓“希腊的乐观”这庄严卓越的概念之真谛，

whereas we find that serenity generally misinterpreted nowadays as a condition of undisturbed complacence.

但是在今日我们居然随处都会遇见一种错误的见解，说是这种乐观乃是安枕无忧的愉快心情的结果。

Sophocles conceived doomed Oedipus the greatest sufferer of the Greek stage,

希腊悲剧中最悲哀的形象，不幸的奥狄浦斯，

as a pattern of nobility, destined to error and misery despite his wisdom,

他虽则聪明过人，却命定要犯错误，受灾难，

yet exercising a beneficent influence upon his environment in virtue of his boundless grief.

可是，尝尽千辛万苦之后， 终于对他周围的人们发挥一种神秘的造福的力量，甚至在他死后，这力量还是有效。